Paradigm Shift
by Pandora of Ithilien
Summary: In the years between Paris and 'Madam Director', Jenny Shepard was involved in many missions, but only one completely changed how she saw the world...
1. And Your Next Assignment Is

Disclaimer: Jenny's not mine, the show NCIS belongs to CBS while the real thing belongs to the Navy. Paula is mine, DESI is mine, the crossover mix in this story is mine though its parts are not.

_**Chapter 1 – And Your Next Assignment Is…:**_ NCIS Special Agent Jennifer Shepard drove through midday Washington D.C. traffic with some trepidation. It had been years since she'd had a stateside job. Her area of expertise involved overseas ops, particularly undercover. So why did Director Morrow want her for a U.S. job?

She didn't know, and the director had been unforthcoming on the phone. He'd just told her to postpone her latest op, catch a flight from Berlin, and be at headquarters at 1330, so here she was, pulling into the Navy Yard, and still totally clueless as to why she was there.

She was about to get out of the car when she spotted two male agents headed for a car and froze. She recognized the silver-haired man in the lead, though the brunet man behind him with the cocky swagger was a stranger. She didn't give a damn about the dark haired man. Her eyes were fixed on the one in front, the man she knew all too well. _Jethro…_

It was stupid to freeze, as though she were afraid to face him again. She wasn't, not really, though it had been just over a year since she'd left him in Paris with nothing more than a Dear John letter. It wasn't fear; it was… prudence, that was all. She was well aware they'd probably meet again one day, but it was perfectly logical for her to want to hold off on that meeting for as long as possible, wasn't it?

After Jethro and his young partner had left, Jenny got out of the car and strode into the NCIS building, her confident movements hiding any leftover traces of her reaction to the sight of her ex-lover. It wouldn't do for anyone to think she was shaken by anything, even if they'd have no way to know what the problem was.

* * *

When she reached the outer area of the Director's office, his secretary waved her in. "He's expecting you, Agent Shepard," she said pleasantly. Jenny nodded and walked into the main office.

"Ah, hello Jenny," Morrow said pleasantly, looking up from his paperwork. "Have a seat." Jenny complied, barely managing not to start asking questions then and there.

"I imagine you're wondering why you're here."

"Yes, sir, I am. Domestic operations aren't exactly my area of expertise."

"No, they're not. But this isn't your average domestic operation. I need someone who has skills in the field but is also good at diplomacy and politics. You've proven yourself to have those qualities."

Jenny nodded, though she was still confused. "I see. Can I ask what I'll be doing?"

"I have no idea."

"What?"

"You're going to be working with DESI." He said that as though the statement was explanation enough, and in some ways it was. Most people who worked for one of the armed federal agencies had heard of DESI. If NCIS was the poor country cousin of the FBI and CIA, DESI was the mad aunt no one ever discussed.

Everyone knew the name, or at least the initials. What did they stand for? No one could say, just like they couldn't say what DESI did. All anyone knew was that every now and then, some agency would pick up a case that was… unusual, and suddenly DESI would swoop in and take over. No agency to date had ever gotten any of those cases back – not even the CIA.

"I didn't think DESI let other agencies in on their investigations."

"Usually they don't, but a man they haven't taken down yet just murdered a Marine."

"Why didn't they get him?"

"Apparently they were just tailing him, trying to use him to take down a suspected larger group of rogues."

"Rogues?"

"Yeah. He's one of them, or he was. They wanted him to lead them to others, but he's been killing for the past month. Now that he's killed a Marine, we've got enough bargaining power to slow them down, at least. Their director, James Hasling, doesn't want that, so he suggested a compromise. One NCIS agent goes undercover with one DESI agent, while another DESI agent acts as the contact."

"And I'm the NCIS agent."

"Yes. And I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."

Jenny didn't try to keep the surprise off her face. "Sir?"

"I don't know anything else, Agent Shepard. I wish I did, but Hasling's done all the cooperating he can stomach, apparently."

Jenny nodded. "So, are they coming here?"

"No, you're going there. Apparently someone's waiting outside to take you there."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, they're being extremely paranoid. Good luck, Agent Shepard."

It was clearly a dismissal, and Jenny took it as such. She left the office and then the building, looking around for the person who was supposed to take her to the DESI headquarters. This really was ridiculous. What were they so afraid of?

"Are you Jennifer Shepard?" asked someone from behind her. Jenny turned to see a young woman about her height, dressed in unrelieved black, with hair a slightly darker red than Jenny's own. Jenny would have guessed her age at twenty or so, though the wraparound sunglasses the stranger wore made it hard to say for certain.

"Who are you?"

"DESI Special Agent Paula Ravenwood," she said, holding out a hand sheathed in a black cotton glove. "We're to be working together, from what I've been told."

"Aren't you a little young to be an agent?" Jenny asked, taking the offered hand.

"DESI recruits young. Like the military. One of my best friends is a Marine, so I know." She smiled. "We need to get going, Agent Shepard," she said, gesturing to a two-door silver car a few yards away.

Jenny could hear a hint of a British accent in Ravenwood's voice, but she didn't ask about it. She didn't ask her companion – or partner, if the girl was to be believed – anything as she slid into the front passenger seat and Ravenwood drove them off. She stayed silent, thinking things through. She didn't know enough yet, but she hoped that would change soon. And she really hoped this girl wasn't her partner. She was a probie, for God's sake, or whatever DESI called new agents. Even she hadn't been this green when she'd started her undercover work.

* * *

Paula Ravenwood would have known what Shepard was thinking just from the look in her eyes. A lot of people made that mistake about her, equating age with inexperience. Usually it was fine, even useful; when people underestimated you, you could use that. But when the person underestimating you was someone you were supposed to be working with, it was just annoying. Granted, there was very little she could do about it, except prove the older woman wrong. And she could do that.

A/N: Sorry, Gibbs and his partner (it was Tony, if you didn't guess) won't be coming into this story, though Gibbs will possibly appear in flashbacks. I just couldn't help but slip them in.


	2. This is Impossible

Disclaimer: Jenny's not mine, the show NCIS belongs to CBS while the real thing belongs to the Navy. Paula is mine, DESI is mine, the crossover mix in this story is mine though its parts are not.

_**Chapter 2 – "This is Impossible":**_ It was about fifteen minutes later when they pulled up to a nondescript brick office building. Ravenwood parked the car and got out. Jenny got out as well, staring at the building.

"That doesn't look much like the headquarters of a federal agency."

"Yeah, well, we can't all have a fancy base at the Navy Yard. It's quiet, out-of-the-way, and people don't notice it. Just how we like it."

"And here I thought the CIA was the home of the spooks."

Ravenwood spun around, lowering her sunglasses to reveal eyes that were an odd shade of dark gold. "Look, Shepard, you don't know anything about us yet. When you do, then you'll understand. Until then, keep your bloody judgments to yourself." She stalked off, glancing behind her. "Come on."

Jenny glared at the younger woman's retreating back before catching up. She thought Ravenwood needed one hell of an attitude adjustment. Just who did she think she was?

But that was a clear answer. Ravenwood was a member of the most secretive federal agency there was, and clearly she resented the presence of an outsider. Well, she would just have to live with it. Jenny was well aware that a job like this would be quite a boon for her – as long as it went well. If it did, it could be the next step up in her career. She'd given up everything to get ahead, and she wasn't going to let some young agent with a chip on her shoulder cause a problem for her.

* * *

The receptionist looked up as the two women entered, smiling at Paula and giving Shepard a sharp look. "He actually went through with it?" she said.

"I was shocked too, Andrea," Paula said cheerfully. "But maybe our director is finally learning how to play nice with sister agencies."

"Hah! That'll be the day. He's just stuck because Greer botched the Nash case. I'm guessing that's why you're on it as well?"

"How do you always know everything?"

"In this case, it's thanks to Vance."

"What, our Assistant Director? I knew you had to have a contact high up."

"Yes, well, he's married to my sister, what do you expect? Anyway, Hasling said to tell you to hurry to his office the second you got in."

"Of course he did. Well, best not keep him waiting."

As they got into the elevator and headed up, Shepard said, "Just what was that all about?"

"Our director never cooperates with other agencies, he's quite well known for it. Other DESI directors have played nice at times, but Hasling never has. You're the first outside agent to be read in on anything since he took over. The agents already read in help us out at times, but we didn't have any in NCIS. You're probably going to be the only one."

"Doesn't he need to cooperate?"

"Not really, no. We mostly work under everyone's radar."

"What is it you people do, anyway?"

"You'll find out in a few minutes, Shepard." Paula grinned. This was one of her favorite things about this job, telling people about the world that existed right under their noses. It was always interesting to see how people reacted to it.

They entered Hasling's office and she noticed a man with light brown hair and hazel eyes scowling in the corner. Senior Agent Alan Greer wasn't happy that she was taking his mission, leaving him as the contact agent only, and he was even angrier that the other agent replacing him wasn't even one of theirs. Paula ignored the sulky man – she didn't like Greer anyway – and focused on the steel-haired man seated behind the desk.

Director James Hasling looked like the former Army Colonel he was, straight-backed with close-cropped hair and cold brown eyes, dressed in an immaculate suit. Those eyes warmed slightly as they rested on her – he liked her, because of the advantages she gave him – but cooled even more when his gaze shifted to Shepard. He was not happy about the NCIS agent's inclusion in this either. Was she the only one who wasn't fussed about it?

Well, that wasn't true, and she knew it. Vance thought it was a good thing that they were cooperating with others – he'd worked for NCIS once, but had switched to DESI because of his wife, who was one of their researchers. Maybe when Hasling retired and the other man took over, cooperation would become commonplace. Until then, though, there was Hasling to deal with.

* * *

Jenny noticed the hostility from both men immediately. It made Ravenwood's attitude seem downright friendly. She assumed that the man in the corner was Greer, the agent who had originally been on the Nash case. She was guessing that the Nash case was the case she was being assigned to.

"Agent Jennifer Shepard, correct?" the man behind the desk asked.

"Yes," Jenny said.

"I'm Director James Hasling, and this is Special Agent Alan Greer. He was the original agent on the Robert Nash case."

"And who is Nash, exactly? For that matter, what is with all the secrecy? Just who are you people?" Jenny snapped.

"You don't need to – "

"Director," Ravenwood cut in, "with all due respect, if you wanted to keep Agent Shepard in the dark, you shouldn't have assigned this case to me. I'm not exactly a normal agent, sir."

"No, and I trust that you can handle this."

Jenny didn't know what they were talking about, but the sudden flash of anger in Ravenwood's eyes told her that whatever it was, it wasn't good. "No. No, absolutely not. I won't do that."

"You've done it before."

"I'm not doing that, sir!"

"You'll do as you're ordered, Agent Ravenwood!"

"Not on this I won't."

Hasling looked at his agent for a long moment before nodding. "Fine. Then do whatever you think is necessary, Ravenwood. But do not reveal anything you don't need to for the mission."

"Very good, sir," Ravenwood said, nodding. She looked at Jenny. "Agent Shepard, come on. I'm guessing they don't want the debriefing happening here."

Jenny followed her out, her frustration mounting. "Shepard, calm down," the younger woman said, not even turning around. "You're going to explode otherwise."

_That little…_ She was going to strangle her at this rate. "Ravenwood, are you going to explain or not?"

"That depends on whether or not you let me before you strangle me," Ravenwood said sweetly, turning around.

"I never said anything about strangling you."

"Not out loud you didn't."

"Oh, so you can read minds then?"

Ravenwood didn't make a snappy retort, like she'd expected. Instead, she gave Jenny a level, calm look, saying nothing. Jenny stopped herself from shifting under that intense stare, telling herself that Ravenwood was just toying with her. Surely she couldn't actually be implying…

_Yes, I am, Shepard. _

She heard Ravenwood's voice but she hadn't seen the other woman's mouth move. No, no, this was completely impossible. "This is impossible," she said, her voice much firmer than her thoughts.

Ravenwood laughed, leaning against the corridor wall. "I thought so too, when I found out."

"What, a year ago?"

"God no. I found out when I was 14. That was when I found out I could do things like what I just did."

"How did you find out?"

"My mother told me."

"And she hadn't said anything before?"

"My adopted mother. She took me in when I was 14." Something flashed through the younger woman's eyes, a pain Jenny knew all too well. It was the same thing she felt whenever she thought of her father. Thinking about that, she saw something else pass through Ravenwood's eyes and she froze.

"You didn't…"

"I don't have the best control. I can stop myself from hearing everything around me, but strong thoughts… That's why I have a rule. Anything I pick up I don't mention, except to the person I pick it up from, without permission. More often than not, I never speak of it. It's just not right."

Jenny nodded. She didn't like the thought that Ravenwood had been reading her like a book from the moment they'd met, but there wasn't much she could do about it. She could get angry later and probably would, but for now there were more important things on her mind. "And DESI? Is that what you people handle? Odd powers?"

"No, we…" Ravenwood shook her head. "DESI stands for the Department of Extraterrestrial and Supernatural Investigation."

"So, you work with little green men, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and the Wicked Witch of the West?"

The response was laughter. "Oh, that's good, that's very good. There are green men, actually, although the aliens I've seen that match the stereotype physically in terms of size and features are actually sort of a purple-gray. I've yet to meet Casper, though I've seen a few ghosts. And as a witch, I'm mildly insulted. Though since I like the book _Wicked_, not so much. At least you didn't compare witches to Glinda. I would have had to kill you."

"That woman gave me nightmares once," Jenny said dryly. Then she frowned. "You become very friendly when explaining your job, don't you? Especially since you were giving me an attitude ten minutes ago."

"Oh, that. I just was ticked that you didn't wait until you knew the score to pass judgment on us. But I really don't like how Hasling and Greer are going to treat you. Both of them think you shouldn't be here."

"Yes, you mentioned that. Why did Hasling agree? My director said he didn't have a choice, but he doesn't seem like a man to be backed into a corner."

"He isn't, but from what I know it was either he read in an NCIS agent or Morrow started investigating us. That would be… I don't even want to think of how badly that could go."

"Well, if the world found out that aliens were real, yeah, it would be bad."

"I imagine widespread panic, riots, all that stuff."

"Clearly something you don't want."

"No." Ravenwood tried to look serious, but failed. She grinned widely, mischief dancing in her eyes. "It'll happen eventually, but I don't fancy rushing it."

"Ravenwood, you're a strange woman."

"Yeah. And it's Paula, Shepard."

"Then it's Jenny."

"Works for me. So, Jenny, ready to go back in and run the gauntlet?"

"We might as well."

A/N: I never planned to keep the redheads at odds, though their newfound camaraderie will certainly be strained by the fact that they're both a little temperamental. R&R!


	3. Case File 54

_**Chapter 3 – Case File 54:**_ The two women walked back in, seemingly unaffected by the glares they received from the men. Hasling cleared his throat.

"You can sit down," he said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. "Alan, so can you."

"I'd rather stand, Director," Greer said icily. Paula barely managed to avoid rolling her eyes. God, she hated that man. How he managed to succeed as an undercover agent when he couldn't keep his emotions in check was beyond her. But since she _could_ control herself, she refrained from saying as much.

"So," Hasling began. "Three years ago, we recruited a man by the name of Robert Nash. He was a former Marine recruit, kicked out of training on Parris Island after a drill sergeant discovered him with marijuana."

"You hired a former junkie?" Jenny asked, frowning.

"He was rehabbed," Greer snapped. "Besides, we needed people like him."

"Why?" Paula said. "That part never was explained to me."

"He's a projective null, Ravenwood," Hasling explained. Paula stared at him.

"That's something I should have been told already," she observed.

"What does that mean exactly?" Jenny wanted to know.

"He's sort of my opposite number. That is, he doesn't show up on telepathic… radar, so to speak. As a projective null, he can block me from sensing others, and he can mess with the heads of psychics the way we can mess with normal people's heads. They can do normals too, which makes them even more of a problem. Projective nulls can be blocked if you know how, but you need to know what you're up against." Paula looked back at her director. "Someone _was_ going to tell me, right?"

"Of course, Ravenwood. I wouldn't send you in blind." _Maybe not if I was working with another DESI agent, but would you have just to get rid of the NCIS interloper? _

Since she couldn't ask that, and she wasn't willing to pretend she believed him, Paula said nothing. She just gave Hasling and Greer her best blank face and waited for one of them to continue.

"Greer recruited and trained him, and when he got back into the drugs, he fired him. After that, Nash went rogue, selling his services to private groups who knew what he was and wanted to use it. I had Greer follow him, use him to track these groups down. The boy was sneaky, but sloppy. It was easy," Hasling continued.

"Clearly something went wrong," Jenny observed. "I guess you didn't plan on him becoming a serial killer?"

"No, Agent Shepard, we didn't," the Director snapped.

"I tried to catch up with him again, but he's gotten more cautious," Greer said.

"He's probably worked out you're on to him," Paula said.

"You think, Ravenwood? Anyway, I nearly made him in California, which is where the DI who caught him at Parris, Staff Sergeant Knox, was living. I wasn't able to save Knox, unfortunately."

"So where is he now?" Paula asked.

"New Orleans, we believe," Hasling said. "The two of you will go down there, with whatever covers you see fit, and sniff him out. You'll stay in contact with DESI via Greer." He took a paper out of his desk. "Shepard, you need to sign this."

Jenny took it and looked it over. "A confidentiality agreement?"

"By signing that, you promise to never reveal the details of this case to anyone, even Director Morrow." Jenny gave him a sharp look, clearly thinking that being tied like that wasn't necessarily a good idea, but she nodded, holding out a hand.

"I'm going to need a pen."

The men were disappointed, Paula could tell. Greer, once again, hadn't bothered to hide how he felt, and she picked up Hasling's reaction from his thoughts. They had obviously hoped Jenny would balk at signing the damn thing, giving Hasling an excuse to be rid of her. She could see from the tiny smirk on Jenny's face that she'd picked up on that too. But they'd been foiled, because, unfortunately for them, it turned out that Jennifer Shepard was no pushover.

_Which can only be a good thing, all things considered._ This wasn't going to be easy, especially considering that Nash was a projective null. She knew how to stop him from clouding her mind, but not being able to use her telepahty to serach would make this harder. It wasn't the first time she'd had to do without her powers in a chase, but it certainly lessened the chances of success. She was pretty sure Jenny had more investigative experience than she did, and it looked like she was going to need the help.

* * *

"Well, here it is, case file 54," Paula said, plopping the manila folder donw on her desk. She and Jenny were in the closet that was officially known as her office. Jenny personally didn't see how the woman could stand to spend time in here. "You're not at all claustrophobic, I hope," she said.

"No, though I'd give quite a lot for a window in here. Anyway, here's everything on Nash and Greer's investigation of him. Quirks, patterns, even a psychological profile – Cullen did it, and he's decent. I could've done better, and maybe I will, but Cullen's reliable enough."

"You're a profiler?"

"Still studying, officially, but yeah. What better job for a telepath than analyzing how people's heads work?"

"You may have a point there." Still, Jenny noted that Paula had an arrogant streak. It was hardly uncommon in a twenty-year-old, but it could be an issue later. Arrogant people screwed up.

Turning her mind to other matters, Jenny opened the file and pulled out a piece of paper, reading it over. "He writes notes," she said, a little unnerved.

"What?" Paula said absently, still perusin the psychological profile.

"Nash. He leaves notes for his victims. And he always strangles them with his bare hands, and leaves their bodies in bodies of water."

"Hmm," Paula said. Then she looked at the paper she held. "Yeah, Cullen's got that here as well. He thinks the notes are a power trip and the water… Well, he's not sure on that one."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's for display purposes. He seems to use bodies of water that are in populated areas, and they're usually found by random people, innocent bystanders. It's amusing to him, maybe."

"Great. A sociopath with a sense of humor. Just what we need," Jenny commented. Paula smirked.

"Tell me about it. We need to come up with covers, I think. I already have an alias."

"Oh?"

"Rae Seddon."

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Rae is a nickname for Raven – Ravenwood. Seddon was… my original last name, before my mother adopted me."

"Well, we should be connected somehow, to explain why we're together." Jenny frowned, tilting her head as she surveyed the younger woman.

"What?"

"We're both redheads, so it could work if we said we were sisters."

"All right, so what name will you use?"

"Jessica Seddon. It's always best to pick something you'll remember, so I'll match my initials."

"You didn't even need to think about it."

"I've been on a lot of undercover missions." Thoughts of Paris, Serbia, Positano, flashed through her mind, and she pushed them away. She didn't want to think about that anyway, but in the same area as a telepath, she really didn't want to.

Paula saw some of what Jenny was thinking but said nothing. She found herself wondering who the blue-eyed man was, though. However, it wasn't any of her business, and she certainly didn't intend to pry. She never did; she found out more than enough on her own.

Jenny hadn't asked about the gloves yet. Paula was glad of it; she didn't want to discuss it. She had a very good reason for wearing opera-length gloves all of the time, but she wasn't proud of it. To her it was yet another symbol of how much control she _didn't _have. Another symbol of how close she'd come to falling off the edge of both morality and sanity.

A/N: Why is it I can't find a decent lead-in for that backstory on Paula in her original story yet it fits perfectly here?


	4. 10,000 Feet

_**Chapter 4 – 10,000 Feet: **_Two days later Paula and Jenny were at Ronald Reagan Airport waiting for their flight to New Orleans. The atmosphere wasn't exactly tense, but it wasn't comfortable either. Paula's mood wasn't helped by the fact that she wasn't a fan of planes, or any form of normal transportation if she were being honest. Probably had something to do with traveling with the Doctor. Or the orbing thing…

Not that she could do that anyway, not when she was trying to hide from the Elders again. And even if she wasn't, most people tended to freak out when they experienced orbing for the first time. So doing that with Jenny riding shotgun… Well, Jenny didn't seem to shake easily, but it was better not to push the envelope too far just yet.

Jenny, meanwhile, was practicing the mental block techniques she'd looked up over the past two days. Considering that they'd been made up either by fiction writers, crazies, or New Age practitioners (three terms which in her mind might not be mutually exclusive), she wasn't entirely sure they'd be effective, but it couldn't hurt. And if she was going to have as hard of a time blocking out her memories as she seemed to be, she was willing to take what she could get.

Why was she having such a hard time? Since she'd left Paris, she'd locked all of those memories firmly in a corner of her mind. Was it being undercover again? More likely, it was the fact that she'd seen him. Who was he working with now? What was happening in his life? What about his third wife? Were they still married? If she'd stayed, would he have married her instead? Then again, that was part of why she'd left; fear of becoming another ex-wife.

The woman had issues, Paula decided. And those weak attempts at blocks weren't helping matters. That blue-eyed guy kept cropping up. Ex-boyfriend maybe? It was an unfortunate side effect that most people who were good at hiding their emotions had. Their thoughts tended to be all the louder because they didn't allow their faces or bodies to show what they were feeling.

"You know, those blocks don't work too well. They never do," she said matter-of-factly. Jenny jumped, glaring at her.

"You couldn't have at least pretended they did?" the NCIS agent snapped.

"No. You're giving me a migraine."

"Shouldn't you be used to that?"

"You shout your thoughts, Jenny. You control yourself outwardly, and it makes your thoughts much louder. It's normal."

"Then why bring it up?"

"Because it's also painful. Look, I can teach you how to keep me out – I've done it for other people. I don't like hearing and seeing what people are thinking. It's useful, I won't deny it, but it's… uncomfortable. On a good day."

"Can't you control it?"

"Not as well as I'd like to." She smiled ruefully. "I used to, but… Well, things happen. My abilities grew, but that made them harder to handle. It's been seven years since the first power boost, five years since the second, and I'm still not fully back in control."

"That's a long time. Just what happened?"

"Traumatic experiences and side effects of a very advanced piece of technology." It was a simple way to explain a complicated and painful series of events. And despite the fact that part of her felt she should share something personal, to offset the invasion of privacy that her telepathy caused, she didn't want it to be that.

"Oh. Well, I think I want these blocking lessons."

"All right then."

They were well into the flight before either woman spoke again about anything but the blocking exercises. Paula was impressed; Jenny had picked them up quickly. She'd only known two other normals who were that good. Both of them had received official training, one at DESI and one at Torchwood. And now that she thought about it, one of them was named Shepard…

"You don't know an Alexandra Shepard, do you?"

Jenny looked at her, surprised. "My kid sister's name is Alexandra. Why?"

"I know an Alex Shepard, she's a DESI agent."

"My sister works for the Air Force in Colorado."

"Colorado Springs? Cheyenne Mountain?"

"Yeah. They do deep-space telemetry. Alex is an astronomer, she… Wait. How did you know where she works?"

"Because she works for us. She's the liaison there, and they're not doing deep-space telemetry."

"Oh? And what do they do?"

"DESI without the supernatural."

"So, aliens."

"Yeah."

"I'm going to kill her."

"Don't. She really couldn't tell you. I don't know her well, but I met her once. She mentioned that the worst bit about the job is not being able to tell anyone."

Jenny sighed. "Fine. I won't kill her. I'll just yell a little, and then interrogate her. Here I thought all I had to worry about was her falling for a flyboy."

Paula grinned. "Don't worry. From what I know, Alex can handle herself."

"She's my sister. Doesn't matter if she can handle herself or not. I still worry. I guess you're an only child."

Paula shrugged. Here was something she could handle discussing, even if she didn't really want to. Something to even the scales and make her feel a little less guilty about seeing the blue-eyed man. There'd been enough in what she'd seen for her to guess at the situation, and it really wasn't her business.

"Technically I have four sisters."

"'Technically?'"

"My twin sister and I were put up for adoption. Our mother kept her older daughters."

Jenny frowned. "Do you know why?"

"My twin and I were the product of a… questionable liaison. Our sisters weren't. I found them when I did some digging into my past, but they don't know about me. I intend to keep it that way." Her voice was flat, almost toneless, and Jenny gave her a sharp look.

"Why?"

"I… I can't see any of them being too thrilled with the sudden appearance of a sister."

"Maybe you should try it anyway."

"Maybe. Who the hell knows? The point is, I'm not exactly an only child. And your sister's great at her job, just so you know. I know I couldn't handle working with the military full time."

"What's wrong with the military?"

"Too structured, too regimented, and too many people ordering you around."

Jenny thought of the military men and women she'd come in contact with over the years and smiled slightly. A lot of them were stiff until you broke through that reserve, but not all of them. Still, Paula probably had a point. And yet weren't federal agencies strict too? NCIS was, and she'd have thought DESI would be too. "You're a Fed. You still have people bossing you around."

"Not as many, and I've got more leeway. Hasling… Well, you saw the worst side of him. He likes me; I'm useful to him. So he lets me do a lot of what I want, provided I don't do anything to compromise the agency."

Jenny shook her head. "And yet he tried to convince you to do something to me – I'm guessing it was something telepathic?"

"Yeah," Paula said with a scowl. "He wanted me to mess with your head so you wouldn't remember anything when this was over. I'd replace those memories with other ones."

"I take it you've done that kind of thing before?"

"Not like that. But… yeah, I've done it before."

After that there really was nothing left to say. Jenny didn't know how she was supposed to react to that, and Paula was horrified that she'd even said it. So for the rest of the trip, they said nothing. The silence was only broken by the pilot's voice coming over the speaker.

"Will everyone please fasten your seatbelts, we're coming in for a landing."

A/N: OK, no, I did not create Jen's sister for the mere purpose of a way to introduce Paula's family connections. Alex is going to be an important player, not in this story, but in others that are part of this series. For a complete list of posted and unposted fics in this series, check my profile.


	5. A Nighttime Excursion

Disclaimer: I'm not doing this again. See previous chapters.

_**Chapter 5 – A Nighttime Excursion:**_ "Took you two long enough," Greer sneered, meeting them as they collected their bags.

"Pleasant as ever, aren't you?" Jenny shot back.

"Look, Agent Shepard. You're here on sufferance and - "

"Actually I think that's you, Alan," Paula cut in, her voice even. "You're the one who screwed up so bad NCIS got the chance to secure involvement."

"And you, _Paula_, are a junior agent who ought to know her place, special expertise or not!"

"Oh, grow up," Jenny snapped, out of patience with the idiot. "You messed up, and you're upset about it, so you're taking it out on us. We didn't make you screw up, so just shut up and let us do the job you were supposed to do."

Greer didn't respond, as his fury was almost literally choking him. He stared at the two redheads, wanting nothing more than to put them both in their places. But he couldn't think of anything else to say. Unfortunately for Greer, he was a by-the-book man, and had little practice in scathing remarks not directly tied to regulations.

"Here are your IDs, and keys to the apartment we've secured for you." He handed the objects over before stalking away.

"Hey!" Paula called. "How do we contact you?"

"The number's at the apartment," he snapped, not even bothering to turn around.

"Is it you or me?" Jenny inquired mildly.

"Hmm?"

"Making him such an ass?"

"Oh. He's an ass all the time, but I don't think either of us help. Greer thinks that my being a witch means I can't be objective, and you already know he agrees with Hasling when it comes to interagency policy."

"Yes, I did notice that." They'd returned to the sarcastic banter that already came so easily, with an unspoken agreement to not discuss what Paula had admitted on the plane. Jenny, at least, had enough to think about anyway.

Alex was a member of DESI. Her baby sister was a federal agent, just like she was. Maybe it was hypocritical, but Jenny didn't like that. She'd always been a little overprotective, so it was natural. And she had to admit she was a little hurt. She'd always been honest with Alex about her job – when she was doing something classified, she simply said she couldn't go into detail. Had Alex told her about being in DESI, she'd have asked questions, but would have accepted an answer of "It's classified." At least she was pretty sure she would have. Eventually. After several attempts at interrogation had failed. All right, maybe she could understand, but it still hurt. And she was still going to have a long talk with Alex when this was all over.

Paula was thinking about something totally unrelated. Well, not exactly. She was thinking back to what she'd admitted, and she was remembering a man with tousled red hair and a long black duster who traveled in a blue box. What would the Doctor say if he knew the things she'd done since she left him? But then, he was the Lonely God, the one who'd destroyed his own people to stop the Daleks. Surely he'd understand things that needed to be done? And she didn't need an attack of conscience just now anyway. There was a job to be done. The ethics could wait.

They hailed a cab outside the airport, giving the cabbie their new address. The apartment was a third floor walk-up in a neighborhood somewhere between the nice part of town and the slums, an average, forgettable area. Just the place for someone to disappear, Jenny decided, and said as much.

"Yeah," Paula agreed. "I guess so."

"You don't know much about hiding, do you?"

"Not in the way you mean, no. The only hiding I do is from a group of celestial bureaucrats called the Elders. Oh, and my family, but it's easy to hide from those who aren't looking."

"Who are these Elders exactly?"

"It's kind of a long story. But… head angels, basically."

"Where's God?"

"Who knows?"

"Well, that just shot Sunday School to hell."

"Yeah, magic tends to have that effect."

"What, blowing world religions to hell?"

"Blowing worldviews in general to hell."

"Right," Jenny said before pulling out the key she'd been given before they left – Paula had one too, but Jenny had reached the door first – and opened the door. The apartment was small, but there were two bedrooms. Jenny noticed a thick file folder on the table in the kitchen and pointed. "Well, there's where we start."

* * *

They spent the next two hours reading through the life of one Robert Nash. He was from an average suburban family – "It's _Leave It To Beaver_, for crying out loud!" as Paula put it – and it was hard to tell just where he'd gone wrong. Though it wasn't the first time a kid from a good family had gotten into drugs and gone bad.

"He's clean now, at least," Jenny commented.

"Yeah, the Marines couldn't do it but DESI could. I guess we're tougher then," Paula joked. Jenny immediately pictured the reaction one Marine would have if he'd heard that, and didn't know if the image made her want to laugh or cry. So she simply went back to concentrating on the files.

"He likes a bar around here," Paula said at the end of the two hours. "Jimmy's. If we catch him there, we can take him in."

"Isn't half the point of this mission to find out who he's working for now?"

"Yeah, but we can get that out of him."

"Your telepathy won't work, remember?"

"So we interrogate him."

"No," Jenny said patiently. "We shadow him, find out where he goes. Become part of his world. Then, when we know more, we take him."

"Why not just arrest him now?" Paula wanted to know.

Jenny sighed. "Because, when taking down an organization, you don't just arrest the first person you know of who belongs to it. You follow him, manipulate him, do whatever you have to so that he leads you to others. Now come on. We're going to that bar."

"I thought we – "

"We're becoming part of the neighborhood. We start by showing up in local haunts, getting jobs, that sort of thing. While we're doing all this, we watch. Learn his habits, note who he's friends with, et cetera."

Paula nodded. "So it's kind of like a con?"

"I wouldn't put it like that exactly."

"Sorry, bad influences in my childhood."

"Right. So, let's go."

* * *

At the bar, Jenny ordered a bourbon, and Paula asked for vodka. "You know, I never did ask you how old you were," Jenny commented.

"24, so don't worry, I'm legal."

"Vodka's strong stuff, though."

"And bourbon's not?"

"Fair enough."

They sat in companionable silence for a while, watching the other patrons, hoping Nash would show up. Paula was realizing just how lucky she was on this mission. All her previous jobs had been in the magical world. She could do undercover there, but it was much more straightforward. Capture or vanquish. This… It was good that Jenny knew what she was doing. _And if I keep my ears and eyes open, I'll pick some of it up._

It was Jenny who spotted Nash first. "Hello," she murmured, and when Paula glanced her way, she titled her head fractionally in her target's direction. Luckily, Paula knew better than to just turn her head; instead she slanted a quick look in the direction Jenny had indicated and then gave a slight nod.

_He__doesn't look like a criminal mastermind, does he?_ She sent the thought to Jenny, who just managed not to jump. _Relax, and just think your response._

_Warn me next time! And can't he pick us up?_

_No, nulls can't sense other psychics. He's a black hole to me, but I'm normal to him. It balances things a bit, yes? And this way we can talk freely with no one the wiser._

_Yeah. I guess that makes up for the five years shock just shaved off my life. _

_Sorry. I forget sometimes._Forget that when she, River, and the Doctor had been in situations where they'd been trying to be discreet, she could talk to them mind-to-mind, and even link River and the Doctor through her, and they were all just fine with it. But damn it, it had been five years since her time with them had ended, she should be over it by now.

And yet…She rarely worked with other agents, and when she did, they either told her flat-out not to use her powers on them or were accepting of it when she had done so. So maybe her not being quite sure of herself in this situation made sense.

_So, you notice anything?_Jenny asked her companion silently. She was doing her best to take this development in stride – _it's just another type of concealed microphone_, she told herself. _You're the profiler here._

_He's alone, and he prefers that. It's in his posture, how he tenses up when people get too close. He definitely wants to be left alone. Will that be a problem?_

_Could__be_, Jenny conceded. But she purposely caught Nash's eye, with a look in her own that was a little beyond pleasantly polite. And his dark eyes lingered, for just a second more than they should have. _Then again, there are ways around that._

Paula tilted her head. Seduction – even the mildest of flirtation – as an interrogation technique – was something she'd never wanted to try herself. Couldn't it backfire if you fell for your target? But if it worked, she wasn't going to say anything. And considering what she'd done from time to time, she supposed it wasn't for her to throw stones. Besides, it could be fun to watch.

They stayed until they were both done their second drinks and then left. Jenny was careful to send a seemingly casual glance towards Nash as they left. "Please tell me he's not really your type," Paula commented.

"Oh, hardly," Jenny shot back. "But I may be his. And that could work to our advantage."

"Ways around loner tendencies indeed."

"If it works you'll be eating your words."

"I'm sorry, I was only kidding."

"Such conflict, and yet only for fun. Yet true conflict brews in you both." The speaker was an older woman with wild gray hair wrapped in a red shawl with beads dangling from it. The dress she wore underneath was faded purple, but Jenny was willing to bet it had once been very bright. Something about the woman was reminiscent of the gypsies from children's stories, but that was ridiculous.

But then she turned to look at Paula, and for the second time, she noticed just how strange the other woman's eyes were. It wasn't so much the odd gold color as the expression in them, one that almost seemed to be scanning the other woman. Jenny really didn't like this.

"What do you want?" Paula asked, frowning.

"Just to share knowledge," the woman said. "Are you so scared of that, little Halliwell?"

Paula reeled back as if the woman's words had been a physical blow. "What did you say?" she bit out.

"I only called you what you are, as desperately as you attempt to run from it. It will not work, things like that never do. And if you don't accept it when pushed to a choice, great harm will be done to someone who only wanted to do good. The choice is yours, but know the consequences."

"OK," Jenny said impatiently, "what the hell is this?"

"This," said Paula without looking away from the old woman, "is my world. People who can do all sorts of things, even read a person's future. Granted, they usually don't pop out like this, but still."

"So few stand out as you do." The woman looked at Jenny now, and shook her head sadly. Jenny tried to look away, but found the dark gaze strangely compelling. Was that why Paula hadn't looked away? She'd thought it was some weird thing between magic handlers – because this woman definitely had some type of power if Paula was reacting like this – but apparently not.

She was a little scared, but determined to hide it. "What?" she snapped.

"You are so desperate to reveal the truth, but you don't stop to think that it may not be what you want brought to light. And what you strive for, the goal of your life, it may well not be worth the price you pay."

And now she was definitely scared. No one knew what it was that was driving her ambition – well, no one but Alex, who silently disapproved but would never try to stop her – so how could this woman know? _But then, _said a voice in the back of her mind,_ how could she know the name of Paula's family?_ Because Jenny was willing to bet that the Halliwells were the sisters Paula was so determined to hide from. And if she was right about those facts…

The woman was gone, almost as though she'd never been. Jenny jumped. "I didn't see her leave!"

"Neither did I," Paula said grimly. "Well, that was unexpected, but probably nothing to do with the case."

"I didn't think it did, but you're taking this in stride."

"Hardly, Shepard, hardly." And Paula laughed, a shaky laugh that hardly sounded like a laugh at all. "I'm just trying not to react."

"How's that going?"

"Badly. The thing is, that woman… she was a seer, I could tell. And that makes me very, very nervous."

"You don't believe her, do you?"

"I believe that what she says is possible, and that's enough to bug me." With that, Paula walked away, heading back to the apartment. Jenny followed, her mind whirling.

Was it possible that the woman was right about what would happen? Just a few days ago, Jenny would not have believed it possible for one person to read another's thoughts, and yet, only a few minutes ago, she'd been engaged in a telepathic conversation. She'd been told that aliens and magic were not the stuff of fiction, but realities that affected the world she knew in often unseen ways. So was it possible? Yes, she had to admit it was. And that was the most frightening thought of all.

Paula was right, it was enough to be a problem. But in the end… It didn't really matter. She'd chosen her path and it was too late to turn back now. What could she lose that would be worse than what she'd already given up?

A/N: OK, so a bit of a mix here. Sorry about Paula's moral quandaries, but this is the youngest version of the character I've ever written. I'm trying to get her from where she is to where I know she'll be, which is also why she's a bit of a green newbie in this chapter. As for the old woman… part foreshadowing, part just something I've wanted to do since I started this fic. Also, some minor corrections. In chapter one I said Paris had been a year ago, but since this fic takes place at some point in 2001 – prior to 9/11, but in '01 – it's closer to two years. Also, in chapter 2, I named the DESI Assistant Director. The name is actually Valens. I said Vance. He does have ties to DESI, but not that.


	6. Working Out the Details

Disclaimer: I'm not wasting my time on this again.

_**Chapter 5 – Handling the Details:**_ Sleep didn't come easily that night, not for either of them. The old woman's words echoed through both of their minds, and even when sleep came, those words formed their dreams.

Paula dreamed of standing at one end of a bridge that stretched over an abyss, four women at the other end. They beckoned to her, and she shook her head, not wanting to cross, not wanting to join them. They kept wanting her to come to them, and she kept refusing. Finally, they gave her sad looks before pushing a man over the edge into the chasm. His screams rang in her ears long after he disappeared into the dark. She woke up with her throat raw from her own screams.

Jenny's dreams kept shifting. She was kneeling in her father's study, his blood on her hands. She heard the laughter of his murderer and turned to chase him, but he disappeared into the shadows before she could reach him. Then she was in Europe with Jethro, in Serbia, Positano, and Paris. Then she was at NCIS, standing in the bullpen in front of Jethro's desk, and he was looking up at her with hate in his eyes. She woke up with tears running down her cheeks.

But when they met in the kitchen for coffee – well, tea for Paula, who didn't drink coffee – and strategy, neither of them said a word, though it was clear that they'd both had rough nights.

"So," Jenny said briskly as she went for a bagel – the place had come stocked, which was something – "what next?"

"Well, you may have a way to Nash, but you said we needed to blend in, so jobs?"

"That's what I was thinking, and something local. As I said, we need to become part of the neighborhood."

"Well, I've played waitress a few times in the past," Paula mused. "The coffeehouse down the street's hiring."

"Nash's file suggests he's a bit of a bookworm, so he's probably in the bookstore a lot. I saw a sign there too, so I'll try there," Jenny decided. "Meanwhile, we have to set up a line of communication with Greer."

"Do we have to?" Paula wanted to know. Jenny smiled; glad to find that she could smile today.

"Unfortunately yes. He's our control officer, which makes him our only link to DESI." The words 'control officer' brought back memories of her previous control officer, William Decker. Jenny's jaw clenched just thinking about him. He'd never made much of a secret of the fact that he found her attractive, though she'd done her best to spurn his advances without making it so obvious that Jethro noticed. It wouldn't have done them any good if he'd strangled Decker.

Shaking off the thought, she forced herself to think about Greer, a man who was just as unwelcome a control officer as Decker, but for very different reasons. "The tie is important," she continued. "If we manage to get into this organization, whatever it is, then we have to make sure other people know, people with the resources to pull off a big raid."

"I know that," Paula said defensively. "I just wish our middleman wasn't such an asshole."

"You and me both, Ravenwood."

"Glad to see we agree. And it's Rae, Jessica. If we're going to do this, we need to practice." Jenny just smiled, shaking her head.

* * *

They both got the jobs they'd aimed for, Paula working the counter at the coffeehouse and Jenny as a bookstore cashier. The neighborhood they were stationed in was the kind where people knew each other's names and engaged in candid small talk. Jenny did her best to casually insert Nash into conversations, knowing that if he'd hear about it eventually, even if he was less social than his neighbors.

Paula, meanwhile, was employing equally subtle, though more morally ambiguous, tricks to learn about Nash. It seemed his neighbors knew very little about him, despite the ability people around here had for gleaning information. Both redheads had found reason to be grateful for the in-depth covers they'd been given. But the gossip ability seemed to have failed where Nash was concerned. She did learn that he held meetings in his apartment once or twice a month, and that the neighbors didn't know what to make of his friends. There was one woman in particular, a middle-aged brunette, whose image left Paula very nervous. Even seen secondhand, via a memory, she knew a sociopath when she saw one. And when she shared the memory with Jenny, the other woman agreed.

They now had hard evidence that Nash was part of a larger organization. Unfortunately, they didn't have any idea what the organization was. This meant that Jenny's job was now two-fold, or rather three-fold. She had to get into the organization, and she had to make sure that if any of the other members were psychic, they were unable to pick her out. So Paula and Jenny spent a lot more time working on mental shielding, with the eventual result that Paula informed Jenny that she was the best 'mundane' at shielding that she'd ever seen.

They were ready to get to work for real, if only Nash would take the bait Jenny was so carefully offering him.

* * *

They'd been undercover for six weeks when something finally happened. Jenny was ringing up an order when the door swung open and Nash walked in, his eyes flicking over her appraisingly. Keeping in character with her Jessica persona, that of a quiet, shy woman, she gave him a tentative smile before returning to her task.

He picked up a few books, all crime fiction, and took them to the register. "I'm Rob," he said pleasantly. "What's your name?"

"Jessica," Jenny said, using a memory from Positano to ensure that she was blushing slightly. "Um, cash or charge?"

"Cash. So, Jessica, when do you get off?"

"20 minutes."

"Great. I'll hang around, we can go grab a cup of coffee."

"Oh, I don't know…"

"It'll be fun. Come on. Besides, your sister works there, right? So it's not like we won't have a chaperone."

"Rae's younger than I am. Not much of a chaperone."

"Better than nothing. Come on."

"Well… All right."

Twenty minutes later found them at a window table in the coffeehouse. Nash took his coffee with lots of sugar, but no cream. Jenny stirred her own coffee, mixing the sugar and cream well before sipping. She glanced over to where Paula was watching them discreetly. She'd never much liked performing for an audience.

"So, Jess, what brings you to New Orleans?" She almost flinched at how he shortened her name, and he noticed her tense."What?"

"I don't really like Jess. Most people call me Jessica."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine, you didn't know. Rae and I… we just felt like a change. Our mother just died, and our father's been dead for years. There wasn't anything holding us in Pittsburgh anymore." According to the dossiers, Pittsburgh was Rae and Jessica Seddon's hometown.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I worked for the government for a while, but it wasn't really my scene. I think some of it was being in D.C. I like it much better here."

"What did you do for the government?"

"Nothing important, computer stuff mostly."

"That's still more interesting than working the register at a bookstore."

The small talk continued, and finally he said, "You know, Jessica, this was really a lot of fun. We should try it again."

"Are you asking me out?" she wanted to know.

"Yeah. How about tomorrow at seven?"

"You don't know where I live."

"If you give me the address I'll find it."

"All right," she said, writing the apartment's address down on a napkin for him. He pocketed it and stood to go. Before he left, he took her hand and kissed the back of it lightly. She was slightly unnerved – she knew what this man was capable of – but she was just glad he hadn't kissed her on the cheek. Too many memories.

Paula came over soon after Nash left, her demeanor that of a teasing younger sister – and Jenny, who knew that kind of behavior all too well, had to admit that she was very good at it – but her questions were serious.

"So, any progress?"

"Date tomorrow."

"You gonna sleep with him if you think it'll help?"

"I'm hoping it won't come to that."

"He's a smooth operator, though. Moves quick once he starts going."

"He could be charming, if I didn't know what he was," Jenny admitted.

"You seemed a bit upset at one point. He called you Jess. Why'd that bug you so much?"

Jenny bit her lip. "He reminded me of someone, one of the only two people who are allowed to call me Jen and not Jenny." Her tone said she didn't want to discuss it anymore, and she was relieved when Paula didn't press.

"Fair enough. Well, I guess now we just see how it plays, right?"

"Right," Jenny agreed, and then the younger woman returned to work. Jenny stared out the window, hoping this mission would be over soon. It wasn't that there were any real similarities, it was just that she hadn't had any form of a relationship since leaving Jethro, she'd been too focused on work. And because of that, even this playacting was bringing up too many things she still hadn't managed to fully lock away. So she definitely hoped this would be over soon.

A/N: OK, I'm not too thrilled with this one, but I needed it for the transition. The story should move more quickly now, though. I hope. With any luck, my damn muse won't go AWOL.


	7. Not One of Us

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

_**Chapter 7 – Not One of Us:**_ "So, nervous about your date, 'Sis'?" Paula teased lightly. Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Considering he's a murderer, I am slightly concerned, yes."

"He won't have any reason to target you – not until and unless he makes you as an enemy. He's a revenge killer, no matter how methodical he is about it."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better."

"It should, at least for the moment." For a moment Paula found herself wondering what would happen if Nash figured out who they were but managed to get away. She pushed those thoughts away, however.

The doorbell rang, and Paula said, "Well, you'd better get going." Jenny scowled but walked out. Paula watched her go, crossing her fingers. She really hoped this went well. If it didn't… It didn't bear thinking about.

Paula glanced at the communications apparatus. She knew it was time to report in to Greer, she just really didn't want to. The man was an asshole, and prejudiced to boot.

It was something she really ought to be used to by now. The older generation of DESI agents could still remember the days when psychics and witches – contrary to what many thought, they were not always the same thing – were not allowed in DESI, were considered enemies just like demons and hostile aliens. Greer and Hasling both belonged to the old school, though Hasling was just open-minded enough to see the usefulness of people born and bred to the supernatural. Greer was just a bastard. Though once the nasty bits were over, she had to admit he was good at his job.

She turned the various bits of technology on and waited for the man to show up on her screen. When he did, he was wearing the scowl she'd become so accustomed to.

"You know, your face can freeze like that if you aren't careful," she said by way of greeting. He only scowled harder. Paula just rolled her eyes. "Jenny's with Nash," she continued, moving on to business.

"It should be you, if it has to be one of you," he grumbled. "Shepard's only here because Morrow's too clever for his own good."

"Be that as it may, she is here, and honestly, she knows more about this game than I do. She's also closer to his age."

"Men like younger women. You're jeopardizing the agency by letting her do this."

"Oh hell, Greer, take that damn stick out of your ass. It would jeopardize the mission if I was doing something I'm new at with a case this sensitive, which in turn would jeopardize the agency."

"You do understand the seriousness of this, then?"

"Yeah, and it makes me wonder, where the hell was Alex Shepard when all this was going down before?"

"With the SGC; we don't have proof yet that the organization Nash is tied to even is the Trust. Until we know, involving our SGC liaison is premature."

"You're hoping it is, though."

"We all are. If things work out very well, he may even lead us to the Colonel."

"You know I still find it disturbing that all we know of the man – or woman, I mean it's possible – is a title that may or may not be accurate."

"It's all we have, and we do know he's a man from the few things we've been able to intercept."

"My question is why am I in this? I was never involved in the Trust investigation."

"Hasling wants you to interrogate any of Nash's associates we happen to catch." The disapproval was suddenly back in Greer's voice, and that was enough to tell Paula what was meant by that one. _Oh hell._

"He wants me to mind-rape them."

"That's what you're here for, isn't it?"

"Actually no, I'm here because I have more hands-on experience with supernatural and extraterrestrial stuff than some of our senior agents."

"Whatever you say, Ravenwood, the fact is you're hell on wheels in interrogation, and you know it. You don't even have to try."

"And that's what really gets you, isn't it, Alan?" she asked sweetly. "You think my having power gives me an edge."

"You telling me it doesn't, _Paula_?"

"In some ways, yes. In others, not really. It makes it harder for us to do our jobs because agents who think like you won't work with us."

"Of course we don't want to work with someone who cheats to get ahead."

"When you're the one who can never touch another person with your bare hands again, then you come to me and say my power gives me nothing but advantages," she snapped, sick of this discussion. She knew what people thought; as Greer had pointed out, knowing what people thought was what she did. They only saw the power, not the shit that came with it. Like the fact that she was trapped in gloves for the rest of her life, or that she couldn't fully shut down her telepathy, which meant pretty much every illusion she wanted to have about the world was stripped away.

"Look," she said, "let's just get back to business. You and I can agree that this mission is important."

"Yes, very. And you understand that Shepard can't know about the Trust?"

"She's risking her life for us."

"But she's not one of us."

Paula tried to find something to say to that one, but she couldn't. At the end of the day, it was true. Jenny was not one of them, and it mattered. Not to her, not really, but to Greer, and Hasling, and most of the agency. And they had her hands tied, and she was a junior agent, so she couldn't even fight it. Jenny was risking her life with Nash, that was simple fact, but what was also fact was that the NCIS agent would never really know why.

It wasn't fair. But life wasn't fair, especially in this business. Paula had been with DESI long enough to know that 'fair' was an alien concept. So she simply nodded and shut down the computer. Leaning back, she tried to tell herself it was all for the best. She just couldn't help feeling like it wasn't, like this whole thing would someday come back to haunt them and that Jenny would be the one to pay the price. When she couldn't shake the feeling, Paula made a decision. If she was right, then Jenny wouldn't pay the price alone. Paula would make sure she was there, one way or another, to help her new friend avoid losing more than she should thanks to one op. It was the least she could do.

A/N: Yes, there is a point to this chapter. It won't be apparent until later, but let's just say I like AUs and fix-its. Also, the Colonel will be back. Much later, but still.


	8. A Matter of Trust

Disclaimer: If it was mine, we'd have never had JD.

_**Chapter 8 – A Matter of Trust:**_ "So, did you talk to Nash?" Jenny asked as she came through the door.

"Yeah," Paula said. "He disapproves of you being the bait for Nash. Thinks you're untrustworthy."

"Wonderful. You did point out that this is one of my specialties?"

"Yeah. He still wasn't thrilled."

"Well, he'll just have to live with it, won't he?"

Paula smiled faintly, the rest of the conversation with Nash still too fresh in her mind for her to muster anything more. "I guess he will."

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, fine. Just stress from dealing with the asshole. So, how'd your 'date' go?"

"If I didn't know what he was I'd be charmed by him." Jenny shook her head. "And trust me, that's a disturbing feeling."

"Sociopaths are almost invariably charming."

"Are you absolutely sure he's a full-fledged sociopath?"

"No. Few people are. They're missing pieces here and there, but not usually the whole enchilada. I doubt Nash is missing it all, but it's hard to tell."

"Well, I guess we're just going to have to wait and see. I suppose Greer didn't have any information for us?"

"No, nothing. Though he reiterated that what we really want is not just Nash but any co-conspirators he may have as well."

"Which we already knew about. That's why we're using my plan and not yours," Jenny said lightly. Paula smiled.

"And meanwhile, I learn from you, and become a better agent."

"Well, that's what probies do."

Paula arched an eyebrow. " 'Probie'? What's that mean?"

"A rookie agent."

"Oh. Well, I may be new to this area of investigating, but I'm hardly a rookie."

"That's what you think," Jenny shot back.

Paula scowled. "I'd like to see you try taking down a demon gang in the middle of the night."

Jenny shrugged. "That's why I'm the NCIS agent and you're the DESI agent. We all have our specialties."

"That we do, and you're going to be making quite a lot of use of yours."

"Isn't that the idea?"

* * *

The weeks passed, and soon they'd been undercover for three months. Jenny continued to date Nash, though she hadn't had to sleep with him yet, something she was grateful for. Paula, meanwhile, kept gathering information from the locals, though now she did it in the guise of a nosy kid sister. It actually worked better with that persona.

Then one night, things changed rather drastically. "Jessica?" Nash asked, his voice slightly uncertain.

"Yeah, Rob?" Jenny replied.

"Do you believe in the paranormal?"

_Well, this is something_. "Um… I don't not believe in it. I'm not sure. Why?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, I used to belong to this agency called DESI. They dealt with the paranormal." He continued, giving her the same basic overview that Paula had that day at DESI HQ. She gave him the surprise that he would have expected, but she also made sure to show interest.

"Rob, why are you telling me this?"

"I left DESI, they were corrupt, abusing their power. I've joined a group called the Trust, and their mission is to use the things we can learn from all this stuff for the greater good of Earth and humanity. I was wondering if you wanted to join?"

This must be the group of rogues Nash was associated with. She'd assumed that they didn't have a name, or that DESI didn't know it. Now she wasn't so sure, but that wasn't important at the moment. What was important was that she not miss this chance.

She gave him a brilliant smile. "I'd love to. It sounds fascinating."

* * *

"So, the Trust then? That's the name?" Jenny asked as she came upon Paula, who was engrossed in the case file yet again.

"Yeah, we need to take – " She looked up, a stricken look on her face.

"That's what I thought," Jenny said coolly. "Tell me something. Why am I flying blind over here?"

Paula bit her lip. "Because I have orders to follow. And you're not cleared for this."

"Bullshit, Paula. I want to know what I'm up against."

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I'm under orders."

"So what? Are Hasling and Greer risking their necks? No. I am, and before this is over, chances are so will you. So whose side are you on, Paula?"

Paula's amber eyes met Jenny's green, and the young witch made a decision. Jenny was right, and in the end, she trusted the NCIS agent more than she did most of the people at her own agency.

"Yours."

"Good. Then tell me what the hell is going on here."

"OK. Well, the story begins with the SGC, who were the first to deal with the Trust as an actual organization. Initially, we thought the Trust was just an offshoot of the NID, a radical branch, but now we're not so sure."

"The NID? But aren't they just supposed to be a civilian watchdog group keeping an eye on the military?"

"Key phrase: 'supposed to be'."

"All right, so what does this Trust do?"

"They collect alien technology by any means necessary. Collecting is the primary motive over at the SGC and one of the top goals at DESI, but we have rules we follow. They don't. For example, they once stole a weather-controlling machine that was necessary to stabilize the weather patterns of an entire planet. Their actions almost wiped that population out."

"Why don't you think they're part of the NID?"

"There's always been people trying to sabotage us. We don't know if they were always part of the Trust or if they melded with them, but they definitely seem to be all one now, which makes them a much bigger problem than if they were just stealing stuff."

"Are they using what they steal to defend the planet? I imagine that's what the SGC and DESI acquire it for."

"Maybe some of it, but a lot of it is being used for commercial gains. They've got ties to various corporations, and even in the government – Senator Kinsey has been in league with them since 1999 at least."

"Kinsey? The presidential candidate? Didn't he just survive an assassination attempt?"

"Yeah. He was cleared for the SGC back in early '98 when he was in charge of the budget – he wanted to know where the money was going. I'm not sure how much he knows about DESI itself, but probably more than he should. He's slippery, that one."

"Isn't he planning a presidential bid?"

"Yeah, and that has all of us in the weird sector very concerned."

" 'Weird sector'?"

"DESI, SGC, Torchwood – they're Britain's DESI – that sort of thing. We're the weird sector, as opposed to the public and private sectors."

"Oh. Clever. So, is there anything else I should know besides the fact that a Senator is apparently in charge of this group?"

"He's not in charge. He's affiliated, but the guy in charge is the Colonel. And before you ask, that's about all we have on him. We're actually hoping this investigation turns up more details."

"You don't have any insiders?"

"No. I'm told we used to refer to these guys as ghosts, because we could never trace them. We've finally got a name and a full-fledged organization to target, but not much else."

"Is that why you're on this case? Because the Trust is your job?"

"No, actually if things were set up that way, it'd be your sister on the case. She's supposed to be in charge of the Trust investigation, but I think Hasling's keeping her in the dark right now."

"Why?" Jenny was indignant on her sister's behalf.

"Alex has been with the SGC since it began in February 1997. With Hasling's opinions on interagency cooperation, I think he's come to believe she's been corrupted by long-term involvement with the Air Force."

"That's insane. Didn't he assign her there in the first place?"

"No, initially it was supposed to be her former mentor partner – a training partner; you spend at least a year with them – but he decided on something else." The something else was becoming a shadow agent at NCIS – shadow agents monitored the cases of other agencies and police departments, preventing them from digging into DESI. Paula knew Hasling had wanted to request him for this, but doing so would have been too suspicious. However, that was one thing she couldn't tell Jenny, for the sake of that agent.

"So it went to Alex."

"Yeah. She was a little young for a representative position, but by all accounts she's done quite well for herself. She won't be happy when she finds out Hasling's cutting her out. Though I suppose it could have been Greer's idea. The official line is that we didn't know it was the Trust and Alex is of more use in Colorado, but now it'll probably change to their not wanting to introduce someone new and upset the balance."

Jenny nodded. "Is there anything else I ought to know?"

"Just one thing. I really shouldn't have told you any of this, and if anyone finds out I did… At Torchwood, they use this amnesia drug on people, but here, well… This can't go any further. I guess you could tell Alex that you know, but no one else. The consequences for us both would be… unpleasant."

"Then why did you tell me?"

Paula smiled faintly. "Because you were right. And because you're my partner, not Greer or Hasling."

Jenny nodded. "Good to know. So, what's next?"

"I guess you're going to a Trust meeting."

Two nights later, Jenny was in Nash's apartment as she had been several times before, only this time there were several other people in the room. They only used first names, which meant that she didn't have as much information as she'd have liked, but she still filed away what she knew. David was a weedy blond with glasses and a British accent, Juan was as Hispanic as his name and looked like pure muscle until you saw the sharp intelligence in his eyes, and Ryan was a dark haired man about Paula's age with a Southern accent.

There was one more member of the group, the only other woman in the room besides Jenny herself. Helen was as British as David, with long brown hair and cold brown eyes. She, more than even Juan, gave off an air of someone not to be messed with. Jenny's instincts screamed every time she looked at the other woman. Nash might be a murderer and a partial sociopath, but Helen… Jenny was almost certain that as far as sociopathy went, Helen took the cake.

A/N: And things move along… Oh, there's now a slideshow for this fic on YouTube. The link can be found in my profile. Oh, and thanks go to Arduinna for her wonderful Stargate timeline, which is how I got all the dates in this chapter. (Does anyone know where I can find an NCIS timeline?)


	9. Connections

Disclaimer: Not mine.

_**Chapter 9 – Connections:**_ "So, we all know why we're here," Nash began. "DESI and the SGC want to cripple us. They want to be the only ones who can save the world so that everyone will think we owe them, when really they're the reason we were ever in danger."

"Why are we rehashing this, Robert?" Helen drawled lazily. "For your new girlfriend's benefit?"

Jenny stiffened, glaring at Helen as if she were truly insulted, which she was, actually. She'd always hated being reduced to her connections to a man, and the fact that another woman was the one doing so only added insult to injury.

"Helen, you were the new recruit once," Juan pointed out mildly. "Clearly Robert thinks Jessica can be a good addition to our team, so we should give her a chance."

Interesting. Not only was Juan smart muscle, he was also apparently the peacekeeper. Jenny thought he'd make a good club bouncer; intimidating enough to make a point, but good at defusing situations as opposed to making them worse. And Helen, apparently, had a bit of a superiority complex.

"When do we get to blow things up?" Ryan asked petulantly.

"Blow things up?" Jenny asked.

"Don't worry, Jessica, we're not terrorists, but sometimes we have to do dramatic things," Nash said, placing a hand on her arm in a gesture clearly meant to be soothing. But his touch only made her skin crawl, in a way it never really had before. Despite all her intentions, part of her had slipped into the Jessica Seddon persona, forgetting just what the man she was 'dating' was capable of. Now, with the Southerner's question about blowing things up and Nash's own justification of the idea, she remembered.

Nash's murders were something he did for himself, something personal, but he was part of something larger. It had been so easy to forget, when Paula was talking about magic and aliens, about the silly mishaps she'd had during her early spellworking and the things she'd seen with a slightly childish red-haired time traveler, that this world was dangerous, not just fascinating. There were organizations fighting for power, some sanctioned by the state and some that worked illegally. It was, in short, a world not unlike her own. Except the stakes were even higher than anything she'd have ever considered.

David straightened up from his slouch, a cold smile curving his lips. "In my Torchwood days, there was a DESI field office here in New Orleans. Is it still here?"

"Yes," Nash said, with a pleased smile. "And that's exactly what we're here to talk about. I'm afraid we probably won't be blowing anything up like Ryan wants so badly, though you're in charge of the distraction, Hadley, so there is fun for you." Apparently Hadley was Ryan's last name, because he responded to that comment with a cheerful grin. What was even more disturbing was that it was the same type of grin Jenny had seen men use when they were flirting, a little lopsided and roguish, rather charming in fact. What kind of person would use that smile for something like this?

"Helen, you'll do recon, Juan, with her. David, once they find out what equipment the outpost has, you'll make up a list of what we want. Jessica, stick with David, he'll be teaching you about the devices."

Jenny nodded. She had to acknowledge his planning skills, though Helen looked affronted at being ordered around and only Juan pulling her aside and talking to her quietly had calmer her down. That, she suspected, was why Nash had kept those two together; Juan was playing Helen's handler. And as for her job, well, it was a good place to put a rookie, paperwork duty. Maybe Nash wasn't as sloppy as she'd been told – although bringing her into this at all had been inadvisable on his part. Not just because she really was his enemy, but simply because he hadn't known her very long, He should have still been suspicious of her. But she knew better than to complain when dirtbags' stupidity could be used against them.

* * *

She gave Paula the names when she got back to the apartment. "Juan, Helen, David, and Ryan. Ryan's apparently the only one with a last name, and it's Hadley."

Paula went chalk white, and Jenny frowned. "Paula, are you all right? What's wrong?"

The younger woman swallowed hard, but she still looked awfully shaken. "This Ryan Hadley," she said in a shaky voice, "what does he look like?"

"He's about your age, dark hair and gray eyes, and he has a Southern accent. Why?"

"Oh God, Oh my God," Paula whispered, shaking her head over and over again.

"Paula, what is it?" Jenny snapped.

"I… I know him. Ryan. We went through magic training together."

"He's a wizard?"

"Witch. The term's interchangeable. Wizards aren't human, and warlocks aren't exactly human either."

"But he's a black witch?"

"Apparently. I didn't know… We lost track of each other. There were four of us; me, Caleb, Ryan, and another girl named Gwyn. I still talk to Caleb – he's the Marine friend I mentioned – but Gwyn, well, she decided she didn't want to be a witch anymore so she bound her magic and left. I don't know what she did after that, I guess she went back to Cardiff."

"Cardiff?"

"Yeah. She was Welsh – Magic School's accessible from anywhere in the world. And I guess Ryan decided to become a terrorist."

"Are you going to be OK to continue with this case?" Jenny asked seriously.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Paula said, visibly composing herself. "It was just a shock." She smiled wanly. "Besides, in some ways this is a good thing. I know Ryan, or I did. Some of his weaknesses are probably still relevant."

"Good point," Jenny conceded, choosing to take the younger agent at her word instead of pressing. Even though she didn't believe for one minute that Paula really was OK with this. She knew she wouldn't be. But if Paula said she was fine, and was willing to keep going, it wasn't really Jenny's place to tell her no. Not unless she was clearly going to screw this up, and Jenny somehow didn't think that would happen.

It did make her wonder, though, if Ryan was a threat. "Can he find out that I'm a spy?" she asked.

"What? Oh, no, Ryan's not telepathic, empathic, clairvoyant, or anything else that could make him a danger to you. He's pyrokinetic, and was always the best of us at ritual magic, but he won't be able to make you."

Jenny nodded. "But he could make you."

"What?"

"If Ryan sees you, would he recognize you?"

Paula blinked. "Oh. Shit. Yeah, he probably would, it wasn't that long ago. We were sixteen, so only eight years ago."

"Then you need to get out of here."

"I can't, Greer and Hasling won't allow it."

"Paula – " Jenny began, but Paula cut her off.

"I can't, but Rae Seddon can. And instead of your kid sister, a cousin could be living here."

Jenny frowned. "How are you going to pull that off?"

Paula grinned, before closing her eyes and murmuring something under her breath. Jenny didn't recognize the language, but she thought it might have been Latin. However, she didn't spend much time wondering about it. She was too startled by what was happening in front of her eyes. Paula had suddenly shrunk in size, until she was even shorter than Jenny, about five foot four or so. Her straight red hair grew longer and turned curly and black. Her skin stayed pale, but her face became more angular, and her eyes when she opened them were a normal chocolate brown as opposed to the amber-gold Jenny had finally gotten used to.

"What the Hell!" Jenny said. She could guess that it was more magic, but still.

"Glamour spell," said Paula, and even her voice wasn't the same. It was a little lower, with a hint of Southern drawl.

"Wonderful," Jenny muttered. "Although," she mused as she thought about it, "that would be a very useful skill for undercover work. Most of us have to rely on makeup, contacts, and hair dye. Or wigs," she added, recalling the black wig she'd worn in Russia.

Paula smiled. "It wasn't undercover work as such, nothing so sanctioned, but I know what you mean."

"Not sanctioned? Do I want to know?"

"It was before I was an agent, and technically it didn't happen yet."

"Oh, with your time-traveling friend?"

"Yeah."

"OK, I'll let it go. Your stories about that give me headaches. So, what's your new name?"

"Diana Connors. And I'd better call Greer, make sure he can set up a new identity for me."

"You do that," Jenny said. Then she asked, "So, can you do that to other people or just yourself? And could you have made yourself look like a real person, male or female?"

"Both, and yes, though the spells are slightly different. I won't do a guy when I don't have to, it's too freaky, but…" She grinned wickedly and muttered another spell, resulting in Jenny staring at herself.

"God."

"Yeah," Paula said with a smirk before turning back into herself. "The thing is, any witch can do this, it's a spell, not an active power. So Ryan could do this kind of thing too, for himself or his teammates. Having a witch on their team gives them an advantage we weren't expecting."

"Good thing you're a witch too, then," Jenny commented.

"Yeah, I guess so," Paula agreed, but her voice was a little hollow. As she went off to call Greer, Jenny wondered if she really would be able to handle taking down her old friend. You're just going to have to trust her, the NCIS agent told herself. Paula had trusted her, telling her things she should never have mentioned; Jenny could return the favor, couldn't she?


	10. Showdowns of All Kinds

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

_**Chapter 10 – Showdowns of All Kinds:**_ Six weeks later, the Trust cell's plan had taken shape. Jenny was relieved that it didn't seem to be something that was likely to get anyone hurt. The plan was to break into the DESI field office at night and steal the pieces of alien technology stored there. Ryan's distractions were meant for the security guards. Of course, what the team didn't know was that the guards were forewarned, and that the distraction would do nothing, or that Paula was also inside, waiting for the Trust to arrive.

Jenny followed Nash as he picked the lock and walked in through a side entrance. In the background they could hear the booms as Ryan got to work. She remembered that Greer had ordered Paula to be the one who took out Hadley. She just hoped the other woman could do it. Her own job was to stop Nash before they could meet up with David, and she had just the way to do that.

She drew her gun from its concealed holster and pressed the barrel lightly against Nash's neck. "NCIS. Don't move."

* * *

Paula ran down the hall in the direction of the bangs, knowing she'd find Ryan there. She didn't know why she hadn't fought this; maybe it was the look in Greer's eyes when he gave the order, a look that told her he expected refusal, and would be using it against her later. Or maybe it was the feeling that Ryan had been her friend once, and that because of that, it was her responsibility to stop him.

She saw him, running down the hall and away from the fiery aftermath of his bombs. The hall was dark, and his face was shadowed with the flames at his back, but she still knew him. And she could feel the flames' light on her face, and she knew that he recognized her. She'd done away with the glamour for tonight; she didn't need it now.

The two old friends stared at each other for a long moment, and Paula was ready when Ryan's hand snapped out, and more flames shot down the hall towards her. She twisted, and they missed by mere inches. "Ryan, I don't want to hurt you!"

"Well, isn't that too bad, Paula," he said, his Southern drawl bringing back years of memories, made all the more painful now by the scorn in his tone. They stared at each other, gray eyes boring into gold, and suddenly Paula recalled how they'd been rivals at school, always trying to outdo each other in each class. It had been part of their friendship, part of what forged their bond, and yet… Now it seemed appropriate somehow, because Paula knew something. Whatever happened, only one of them would walk away from this.

* * *

The two guards were a pair of women even younger than Paula, only nineteen years old. Technically, they weren't even full-fledged agents, but the Mayfair family had been tied to DESI since its creation – a Mayfair had been the first director – and Kristina and Danielle Mayfair had been raised to understand that there would never be anything more for them. So, although what they really ought to be doing was sitting in lecture halls somewhere – not that they didn't do that; after all, they still had to be trained properly, and education was key to that – or backpacking through Europe, considering it was summer break, instead they were helping take down a cell of a terrorist group.

Dani glanced at her sister, her eyes finding a face identical to her own. The only difference was that Kris' eyes were eager, ready for this chance to prove herself, and her hair was curly as opposed to straight. Kris still wanted to make their family proud by doing all she could for the good of the agency; Dani had already lost that, the day she realized that what her family had really done in pushing them into this world was take away all of their choices. Kris still thought it was intriguing; Dani just felt trapped.

But right now that wasn't important. As much as she might resent being here, Dani was enough of a Mayfair to understand her duty. And right now, that meant catching the huge Hispanic man and the dark-haired woman who, while certainly less physically imposing than her partner, seemed somehow to be the greater threat. She couldn't have said how she knew that; it was just something in the body language. _The big guy's stronger, but the woman will kill you faster_, Dani thought. She gave Kris a look, and knew without a word that her sister agreed. Kris' head tilted fractionally in a gesture that said, _Your move._

So fine, all right. Greer wanted them alive, so no guns. Tranquilizer rifles, on the other hand… Dani bit her lip as she looked through the scope, focusing all her energy on her first target. She was aiming for the woman – Helen, if she remembered Shepard's talk correctly –, and she knew without looking that Kris would be aiming at the man, Juan.

But while the sisters were perfectly in tune with each other's thoughts and intentions, they weren't evenly matched in everything. There was a reason Kris was so very determined to prove herself in the field; she wasn't as good at it as Dani was. So Kris made her shot too early, and while it did reach its mark, it also alerted Helen, who turned and saw them – and then took off down the hall.

"Kris, just stay," Dani said, dropping the rifle and pulling out her handgun – to Hell with Greer – before chasing off after Helen. She rounded a corner and fired a shot at the fleeing woman, aiming for her leg, but missed by an inch. Helen glanced back and fired a shot of her own, forcing Dani to flatten herself against the wall to avoid it.

The second she was sure she could, she raced after the woman again, rounding one final corner just in time to see Helen disappear in a flash of fractured light. What the Hell is that? But it didn't matter; Helen was gone and they'd screwed up half their mission. At least they'd gotten one of them. But Dani couldn't shake the feeling that Helen's escape would come back to bite someone in the ass. She just wasn't sure who.

* * *

"Jessica, what are you doing?" Nash said, keeping his voice calm.

"My name isn't Jessica," Jenny informed him.

"What is it then?"

"You don't need to know. Now get on your knees, hands behind your back."

He shook his head. "I don't think you really want that. I think you know I'm right, and you'll let me go. You could come with me if you wanted, I can forgive this. They had me fooled once as well."

"'They'?"

"DESI, of course. Do you think I'm foolish enough to believe NCIS got enough intel to get you here without DESI? I imagine your 'sister' and your 'cousin' were two DESI agents."

"It doesn't matter. On your knees, now!"

"No." And he spun around, grabbing her arm and attempting to take the gun from her. She twisted away from him, but in the process, the gun flew from her hand and skittered across the floor. _Oh shit_, she thought as Nash leapt at her, his hands going around her throat. As his grip tightened and her vision went gray, she remembered the case file. He always strangled his victims, and then left them in a body of water somewhere.

She wasn't going to let that be her. She'd fought too long to get ahead to let one psycho stop her. So she managed to bring a leg up and knee him in the stomach. She was too oxygen-deprived for it to be a very hard hit, but it was enough to make him loosen his grip in surprise, giving her a chance to break away.

She dove for the gun and shot him in the kneecap. He collapsed with a scream, and still breathing hard, she cuffed him. "You bitch. I'll kill you for this, I swear!"

"I'm sure you'll want to," Jenny said quietly. "But I have a feeling you'll never be free again to have the chance." He just glared at her, eyes filled with poison.

* * *

Paula and Ryan kept staring at each other; it was like they couldn't look away to do what had to be done.

_"Hey, Red, come take a look at this! Did you know there's a way to go to other realities with spells? I thought it was just on sci-fi shows!" Ryan waved a book in front of her face._

_"God, Ry, how did you find that? Haunting the library shelves again?" Paula laughed._

_"Like you don't do loads of that yourself." _

_"You're both weirdos," Caleb joked. _

_"Cal, be nice. Though I have to agree they're a bit unusual," Gwyn said in her lilting voice, green eyes sparkling with mirth. _

_"Oh, shut up," Ryan and Paula said at once, even as they bent over the aged text. _

She didn't know if he was remembering the same thing, or if he was remembering anything at all. In the end, it didn't really matter. Not when the ground under her feet began to smoke, Ryan focusing on setting it ablaze. Greer had ordered her in secret to kill Ryan; they always killed enemy magic-handlers, their facilities were not designed to hold them. But he'd told her to kill him with her mind, to rip out his knowledge along with his life. But she couldn't do that. She would not force her mind into that of her old friend, even if that meant losing valuable knowledge for the agency. _We can get it from the others. _

A single shot rang out, and the firestarter was too engrossed in trying to burn his old friend alive that he never saw it coming. The bullet hole was a dark mark in his forehead, his face frozen in a look of deadly concentration. Paula stared down into the lifeless eyes and forced herself to stop shaking. She could not fall apart over this now. Not now, not when they didn't know if the rest of the cell had been captured. She couldn't think of Gwyn or Caleb, of what they'd say if they knew what had happened. And she couldn't think of the Doctor, who would act disapproving but would look at her with eyes that said he understood, and that she was lucky it hadn't been worse, because it could have been – had been, for him.

* * *

The curly-haired guard – Kris Mayfair, Jenny thought – took Nash into custody, her eyes wide. Apparently she'd never seen anyone shot before, or hadn't seen it often enough to control her reaction to it. What the Hell had Hasling been thinking, putting her in this situation? And where was her twin? Jenny asked as much.

"She went after Helen," Mayfair said in her soft, faintly Southern voice. "My fault, I'm the reason she got away."

"Relax, Mayfair, it happens to the best of us," said Paula as she walked towards them. "Ryan's dead."

"But you weren't – " Mayfair objected immediately.

"Do I look like I care?" Paula's eyes swept over the room. "David's not here?"

"No, he's in the lab. Nash and I were supposed to meet him," Jenny said. "I thought you could come with me instead."

"Thought you'd never ask."

David was still in the lab, though he was looking nervous as hell. Jenny entered alone, forcing her features into a worried expression. "David, we've been compromised. I don't know… someone shot Rob."

"But not you?" he said, and his voice was suspicious. He was smarted than Nash had been, and like Helen, hadn't been completely happy with her inclusion on this job.

"No," she said, as blue lights materialized behind the man, dispersing to reveal Paula. She hadn't been kidding about the teleporting trick, apparently, though she'd called it something else – "orbing".

He spun around and saw her. "Shit!" he yelled, diving to the side in order to get out from between them. Paula made a grab for him but missed. Jenny tackled him, but not quickly enough, because he was able to press a button on one of the machines in the room, and suddenly everything went black.

_She was standing outside, her head cocked slightly. "Our teams work together as well as we always did, don't they?"_

_"I guess so, Jen," Jethro said with a shrug. "Though I still don't trust… Haswari," he finally gave in and used the name her liaison officer preferred. _

_She smiled at him, knowing what that had cost him. "Fair enough. I can't say I don't trust Ziva, because I do, but you've ceased open hostilities, which is all I can ask for."_

_"Yeah. Well, I guess we should get out of here before the guys in monkey suits start whining." He turned to go, and suddenly she couldn't stand the thought of watching him walk away._

_"Jethro?"_

_"Yeah?" _

_"I was wondering…" _

* * *

Paula knew what he was going for, she'd seen one before, and she had tried to grab his hand, to stop him, but it was too late, and she tumbled into a world that didn't exist – or rather, that didn't exist here, but was real and true somewhere else entirely.

_She stared at him, this strange man who felt so… wrong to her senses. There was a darkness in him she'd never felt before, and she didn't like that. Add to that Jack's seeming inability to return her calls and the growing unease that something very strange was happening, and she was not a happy camper. _

_The man – Shaidar, she thought, and even the name had her on edge – studied her with appraising green eyes, his cat-slit pupils oddly appropriate in his pale face. "Tell me, Paula, what do you want?"_

_Such a loaded question, but right now there was really only one thing she wanted above all else. "I want the truth. I want to know just what the hell is going on here, and your part in it." She met his gaze challengingly, wondering if he'd actually give her what she asked for. He narrowed his eyes, and she could tell he was looking for the right way to respond… _

* * *

Dani was heading back to the rendezvous point when she heard a loud bang. Turning, she went in the direction of the noise instead. She came upon the lab, but none of the Trust guys were there. Shepard and Ravenwood were, though, both lying on the ground, their eyes glassy and blank. They weren't dead, though; she could see their chests rising and falling as they breathed.

She heard a faint whirring and noticed that one of the machines was on. She crossed the room and pressed the only button she could see. The whirring stopped, and the two women on the floor suddenly stirred, blinking and sitting up.

"What the hell was that?" Shepard demanded.

"Don't remember the name, but it shows – " Ravenwood began.

"The future?"

"No, it shows… the road not taken. Or one of them, anyway."

"What?"

"An alternate reality, I imagine," Dani interjected quietly. Ravenwood looked at her sharply.

"Yes, exactly. That stuff we saw, whatever it was… it's not going to happen here. But somewhere, it did. Or it will, or it could even be happening right now. Who knows?"

"I don't need this," Shepard muttered, dropping her head into her hands.

"Look on the bright side, Jenny. At least you didn't botch your orders," Ravenwood seemed to be trying to joke, but something in her eyes made it fall flat. And Dani didn't think it was shame for her disobedience. It looked more like grief of some kind, and she decided not to ask.

"Kris and I will be in for it as well, Helen got away."

"How?" Shepard and Ravenwood spoke together, something that was both alarming and amusing.

"I'm not sure. I was chasing her, and I turned the corner just in time for her to…" She gestured with her hands, shaking her head. "She just disappeared, into what looked like nothing more than fractured light. I can't explain it."

"I've never heard of a teleport like that," Ravenwood mused quietly.

"Maybe it was some kind of portal?" Dani suggested.

"Whatever it was," Shepard said, "I have a feeling she'll be back."

A/N: Of the two realities that Jenny and Paula see, the one Jenny saw is going to be relevant a few stories from now. Paula's is not my creation, nor is Shaidar. He belongs to my RL friend and fellow member, known here as Brona19. Check out his fic Gateways: The Coming of Shadows, a Babylon 5/Doctor Who crossover. The scene here was written with permission, and came out of discussion about how our characters would handle each other. As for the Mayfair twins... again, more relevant later. I'm setting up a series here.


	11. End of the Line

_**Chapter 11 – End of the Line:**_ "I believe Alan said quite clearly not to kill anyone, and yet you did, Agent Ravenwood. Not to mention that two terrorists got away." Hasling's voice was calm, no hint of anger or reproach in his voice.

"Actually, Greer amended that with regards to Hadley," Paula said, because calling him 'Hadley' made it easier to face that she'd killed Ryan.

"Yes, he mentioned that, but you were supposed to take his mind, weren't you?"

"I scanned his mind before I killed him; he didn't know anything the rest of the team didn't know, no secret briefings or anything," she lied easily. He'd kept her out of his head, actually, using a technique she'd taught him.

Hasling's eyes narrowed, as though he didn't believe her, but she only gave him a bland look, and he had to accept what she'd said. "Fine," he said finally. He turned to Jenny.

"This ends our cooperation with your agency, Shepard. That said… You did well. I just wish you were one of ours. I don't like you going back to NCIS knowing all of this."

"I signed that agreement, and I'll stick to it," Jenny said calmly. "But for the record, Director? Eventually this is all going to come out."

"Maybe, but not today. Ravenwood, your next assignment's in your office." He raised an eyebrow. "You can both leave now."

* * *

Outside DESI headquarters, Jenny glanced at Paula. "Was that his roundabout way of offering me a job?"

"You know," Paula said thoughtfully, "I think it very well might have been."

"Apparently I grew on him, the NCIS agent quipped.

"Apparently," Paula smirked. "So how 'bout it?"

"What?"

"Do you want to switch to DESI? I'm telling you, for someone not born into this shit, you've got a real feel for it."

To Jenny's own surprise, she found herself considering it. She'd enjoyed working with Paula, and she had to admit that this aliens and magic stuff was intriguing, if a little unsettling. But… no. Her NCIS career was fast-tracked, and someday that would put her in a position to take down her father's killer. And she'd already proven she was willing to sacrifice everything to make that happen.

"Sorry, Paula, but I can't see myself leaving NCIS."

The younger woman nodded. "I had to try. I guess I'll see you around?"

"You too. Look, if you ever need anything – "

"I'll call if you will."

"Agreed." With a wave, Jenny headed for her car, which had been brought to DESI HQ.

"Hey, Jenny!" She turned at the sound of Paula's voice.

"What?"

"Your knife, the one you gave me before the mission because I told you I didn't have one. I still have it."

Jenny laughed. "Keep it. Rule number nine, always carry a knife."

Paula frowned. "Who came up with that?"

"Maybe someday I'll tell you," Jenny called over her shoulder before getting in her car and driving away.

* * *

Two days later, having gotten a week's leave from Morrow, Jenny knocked on the door of Alex's Colorado Springs apartment. It was time for a chat with her baby sister.

"Jen! This is a surprise!" Alex said when she pulled open the door, wearing a USAF tank top and yoga pants.

"That was the idea," Jenny said, taking a seat on the living room sofa. "We need to talk."

Alex dropped into the chair across from her, eyes narrowed. "Why do I feel like you're about to put me through interrogation?"

"DESI. Why didn't you tell me you were one of them?"

Alex went very still, a reaction Jenny had never seen from her sister before. It shook her, because it made her wonder what other changes she didn't know about.

"Look, Jenny, I'm sorry, but I couldn't. And it's not like you've been totally straight with me about your job."

"When I couldn't tell you I said as much! I didn't pretend to be something I wasn't!"

"Well I'm sorry for trying to keep you from getting locked up somewhere for things you shouldn't know!"

The two of them were both standing now, breathing hard, glaring at each other. Finally Alex sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It seemed like the best idea at the time."

"Of course it did," Jenny said, shaking her head. "Now it's time to make up for it."

"How?" Alex asked suspiciously. Jenny grinned.

"Tell me everything."

Alex nodded, a smirk playing across her lips. "Fine. On one condition."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what might that be?"

"Simple. I tell you what I've been doing, then you tell me how the hell you got involved enough with DESI to find out I was one of them."

Jenny tilted her head, considering, then nodded. "All right then. It's a deal."

A/N: Epilogue up next, and my fix-it tendencies come into play.


	12. Not As It Seems

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this again?

_**Epilogue: Not As It Seems:**_ The last time case file 54 crossed her desk, Paula Ravenwood had a closet for an office and an NCIS partner. Now, just shy of eight years later, she had a real office as DESI's head of foreign and domestic relations, and no partner at all.

Nash had managed to escape a year ago, and while there had been an effort to recapture him, it hadn't been a priority because he'd stayed quiet. Until now, anyway. Two days before, Alan Greer's body had been found in the Delaware River, not too far from the Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia. At his house, local cops had found a note, unsigned, that read, _I hear the Delaware's chilly this time of year._

If Nash had found Greer, it was safe to assume he knew Paula's true identity – and Jenny's. If that was the case, both of them were in danger. But she knew she wouldn't be able to tell Jenny, not yet. Hasling was having her watched. You'd think he would have learned by now that you can't monitor a telepath without her knowing about it. But knowing didn't change the fact that she had no way to let Jenny know without alerting Hasling's spies. What she needed was some sort of excuse to spill the beans.

* * *

Two Months Later

Jenny sat at the desk in her study, staring off into space. It hadn't been easy watching Carson leave with his father, though she was glad that the boy and his family had a happy ending. Something about having him in her house, and the conversation with Jethro that night, had dredged up old memories of a mission no one else knew about. Memories of an old woman who cornered two red-haired agents in a New Orleans alley and warned them about their futures. The palm reader had been right, at least about her. She'd reached the top, but somehow, it no longer seemed worth the price she'd paid.

Shaking her head to clear it, she began sorting through the papers on her desk. She frowned when she noticed a folded piece of paper that she was sure hadn't been there before. She unfolded it and read what was written there. _Ready to go swimming in the Potomac?_

Nash. It had to be. When had he gotten out? And why hadn't she been told? Scowling, she reached for the phone. She had a call to make.

Paula's phone rang, and she glanced at the caller ID. It was Jenny. "Hello?"

"Were you ever going to tell me that Nash escaped?"

"If you gave me an excuse."

"Why wait?"

"Hasling was watching."

"Oh, of course. Isn't he retiring soon?"

"Yes, thank God. Jen, what are you going to do? I mean, it's not like you can tell anyone about this new threat."

"I could just say I've been threatened, and not give any more information. I could pretend I don't know anything else. I'd still be allowed to increase my detail."

"Jenny, you know a larger detail won't be enough to stop him."

"So I should just let him kill me?"

"No… but you could make him think he's too late."

"Fake my death, you mean? Isn't that a little drastic?"

"Well, maybe," Paula conceded. "It's up to you. But I suggest having a plan in place."

"All right. So, let's say I agree. Then what? A car accident?"

"Or a fall down the stairs, though a crash is probably better. Easier to set up, plus if the car explodes, there's no evidence. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet. I'll let you know.

* * *

**Five Weeks Later**

The past five weeks had been hell for Jenny, culminating in her learning that William Decker had died in California. Prior to that, she'd had a health scare, Jethro interrogating her about said health scare, and the FBI invading her agency and accusing her of murdering the Frog. She hadn't, though half of her wished she had. Then she'd have the satisfaction as well as the hassle.

She'd taken two weeks off, and she was going back to work tomorrow. Decker's funeral was in two days, which was why she hadn't sent Vance packing yet. He would cover for her one final time before returning to San Diego.

Or at least, that was the plan until she saw another folded note on the desk. Swallowing hard, she picked it up and opened it. _You don't want to swim, 'Jessica'? Well, that's fine, I'll pick someone else, like that pretty little sister of yours, or maybe your old partner. There's a few more choices too… This should be fun._

She was pretty sure her heart stopped for a moment. Before, she hadn't been scared, at least not very. People gunning for her, while not an everyday occurrence, was acceptable in her book. People gunning for the ones she cared about, however… No, that was not allowed. And it was all because of her. This meant only one thing. She had to take herself out of the equation.

She poured herself a glass of bourbon and called Paula.

"Hello?"

"I've decided to go through with your plan to play dead," Jenny said flatly. No second-guessing herself now, not when she didn't know what Nash might do next.

"All right. How and when?" Paula didn't bother to question her; she just went straight to the practicalities.

"Car accident, like we discussed. As for when, I'm flying out to L.A. in two days for a funeral, so we'll set it up once I come back."

"OK." And then, because she had to ask, Paula added, "Are you sure about this?"

"He's threatened to target people I care about. So yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, then we'll get to work when you come back from California."

"Fine. Just one thing. Alex has to know the truth."

"I wouldn't dream of keeping it from her. Anyone else?"

"No, there's no one. Alex only has to know because she'd take it hard if I died."

"And no one else would? I find that hard to believe."

"Trust me; I know what I'm talking about." And her tone allowed for no argument. As much as she wished things were different, they weren't. She'd done it to herself, which only made it worse.

They hung up after that. Paula got herself a glass of vodka and took a sip, thinking about who to call. Her gaze landed on her calendar. She had to be in London in two days anyway to talk to James Lester about sending one of his people to D.C. to assist in DESI's new anomaly program, and it would give her the perfect excuse to talk to Ashley. Ashley Stafford, the Torchwood agent who owed her a favor. Maybe it was time to call that in.

Jenny drained her glass and filled it again, staring at the blank sheet of paper on her desk. Picking up her pen, she wondered for the thousandth time what to write. She'd spent the last three years trying to find the words for this, it seemed. She knew who the letter was for, at least; she could write that much.

_Dear Jethro…_

* * *

**Two Days Later**

Oshimaida. A word Jenny had hoped she'd never hear. She'd had her suspicions when Will had turned up dead, but she'd prayed she was wrong. But she hadn't been, as some part of her had already known. And now that her past was coming back to haunt her yet again – as though Nash wasn't enough! – well… Now it ended. One way or another.

* * *

"Still worried I'm going to run this place into the ground, Paula?"

"No, Cole, I know Gemini Investigations is safe in your hands. I just like to swing by now and then."

"Maybe you should 'swing by' the Manor more often," Phoebe commented archly.

"Or you lot could come to D.C.," Paula shot back irritably.

"Ease down, ladies," Cole cut in.

"Sorry," Paula told them both. "It's just…" She thought about how to say it. "I've got a new op starting, and it's stressing me out." Which was all true, as far as it went.

"Is that why you're playing with your pocketknife?" Phoebe asked, plucking the closed knife from Paula's hand. "Because it's really ann – " She stopped abruptly, her eyes glazing over as a premonition hit.

Her eyes cleared a moment later and she dropped the knife, her face pale. "Paula, where'd you get that knife?"

"My friend Jenny," Paula said with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Why?"

"Red hair, green eyes, early to mid-forties?"

"Yeah, that's her. Phoebe, _what did you see_?"

"I think she's in trouble."

* * *

**Three Days Later**

"So, Leon, how does it feel to be Director?" Paula asked.

Vance glared at the sunglasses-wearing redhead. "I'm not sure this is a good idea. I'm still a DESI shadow agent, as you well know."

"Look at it as a trial run. You're Hasling's heir apparent; this is good practice for you."

"Right," he said dryly. "So, did Nash or his accomplice show up?"

"Not that I could tell. My sister didn't pick anything up either."

"Is she a telepath too?"

"Empath."

"Oh. Are you even sure he has an accomplice?"

"The identities of the agents involved in his arrest were top secret. Yeah, he has someone on the inside, either here or at NCIS. Especially since we know he's also the one who fed that Russian woman the names she needed."

"Great. But they weren't here, so do they know we're on to them?"

"They may have been here. Nash is a projective null, and he's good at disguises or we'd have found him by now."

"Wonderful." His gaze traveled over the mourners, landing on one woman in particular, a woman whose hands held a folded flag in a white-knuckled grip. "You might have finally made an enemy of Alex, you know," he observed quietly.

Paula glanced over at Alex Shepard, who was now being led away by a man she recognized from SGC files as Jonas Quinn. The older woman turned her head and met Paula's gaze head-on, her bright green eyes blazing with anger. "She knows it was necessary."

"Maybe, but that may just make her even angrier. I was her mentor when she was first recruited, hell, I recruited her myself. I know her."

"Then _you_ talk to her."

Vance scowled. "Is there anything else, Ravenwood?" he snapped.

"Just the one thing." She kept her eyes on the people now leaving Arlington, focusing on one group in particular. She'd thought it out, and there really was nothing else she could do. Vance, following her line of sight, sighed.

"Gibbs' team," he said tiredly. "You want them split up."

"Temporarily. Just to distract them, make sure they don't have time to come up with awkward questions. I don't want them digging. Do you?"

"No." Vance didn't even want to think about the disaster that would be. Which was why he'd come to the same conclusion. It was just one more reason to move the players around. "It's already done. I'm telling them today."

Paula grinned. She should have known Vance would pick up on the risks. "All right. Well, I'd better go before Phoebe gets angry with me."

* * *

She went to her sister's side and they left the cemetery together. On the way out they passed Gibbs' team. Paula ignored the niggling guilt she felt when she saw them, even when Dr. Mallard shot her an angry glare.

However, she couldn't ignore Phoebe's sharp intake of breath when they passed. Her sister looked like she'd been punched in the stomach. "Phoebe?"

"In the car. Now."

OK, so maybe bringing an empath to a funeral was a form of cruel and unusual punishment, but she'd needed another pair of psychic 'eyes', so to speak. And Phoebe could have said no. Considering her sisters' dislike of her job, she hadn't expected her to agree.

"What's up, Phoebe?" she asked once they were in the car. Surely the mole wasn't on Gibbs' team – or Gibbs himself. The way Jenny had talked about them over the years…

"Tell me you didn't know, Paula."

_Huh? _"Didn't know what?"

"How much your friend's 'death' would affect that one group."

_Oh._ Paula sighed. "You always know someone will be hurt. Most people have at least one person to grieve for them."

"Don't you care?"

"It's better than the alternative. The person's not really dead, and usually that's revealed in time."

"So you're going to tell them?"

_Shit._ "This early in the game? I just don't know." Then there was the fact that Jenny had asked her not to, but she didn't think it was a good idea to bring that up.

"You have to," Phoebe asserted. "She's part of their family. And…"

"What?"

"The man with the silver hair and really blue eyes? He loves her, and he's lost people he loved before. It's not fair, Paula."

She'd picked up on that too, damn it. She'd picked up on everything her sister had said. And her heart had hurt for them and for Jenny, who for whatever reason wasn't aware that they felt so strongly about her. But there just wasn't anything she could do about it. Sometimes she really felt as though she were the oldest sister, rather than half of the youngest pair. She seemed to be the only one who understood that sometimes you had to do things that seemed wrong, even cruel. "No, it's not. But I've done all I can right now. Later… It all depends."

"That's wrong."

"Maybe, but that's how it is." Cold, but true.

"That's cruel."

"No, it's being practical."

"You have to tell them."

Paula glanced over. Phoebe's expression was stubborn, but Paula could be just as determined as her sisters.

"That's not your call."

"You like hurting them, don't you?"

"No, I don't. I'm doing the best I can for all concerned. And the fact that you would even ask that makes me wonder just how well you actually know me."

The rest of the drive was silent. Paula blocked Phoebe's thoughts from her mind, focusing on what was coming. Jenny was more or less settled in London, Vance would see to it that Gibbs and company would be kept busy for a while, and Dr. Mallard had reluctantly agreed to keep Jenny's secret.

As for what was going to happen… Paula didn't know. It was too soon to tell, but she had a feeling that whatever happened, it was going to be one hell of a ride. She just didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad one.

A/N: And that, my friends, concludes Paradigm Shift, but the story continues in Off the Grid, available in my profile. Thanks for reading and I hope you check out the sequel. Also, there are three tag fics for this story, To Do No Harm, Need to Know, and The Magic of Hot Chocolate, so check them out too.


End file.
